WEEK IN PREVIEW: TWAIN ON TOP,
NOW 11, JA RULE FOLLOW

As expected, Mercury/Nashville diva Shania Twain’s UP! is set to make its chart debut at #1. At this point, the country crossover queen’s new album is expected to sell in the high 800s and possibly as much as 900k.

That means Twain is on schedule to do nearly three times as well as her nearest competitors: UTV’s Now 11, which appears likely to do just over 300k for the week, and Shady/Aftermath/Interscope’s 8 Mile soundtrack, which is looking like just under 300k. Either album could come in at #2 when all the counting is done.

But there’s a lot more chart-debut action to come: Murder Inc./Def Jam’s Ja Rule is on track to exceed 200k for the week; Atlantic’s Matchbox Twenty looks like 170k-190k; Epic/Interscope supergroup Audioslave should come in at around 160k-170k; Capitol’s George Harrison is expected to do about 100k; Arista’s Toni Braxton should come in just under 100k; and Epic’s Mudvayne looks like 85k.

At Top 40 radio, the most-added record this week will be Justin Timberlake’s "Cry Me a River" (Jive). Timberlake will also figure prominently at Crossover, but may come in behind LL Cool J and Amerie’s "Paradise" (Def Jam). Also bowing big at the format will be Nate Dogg featuring Eve, "Get Up" (Elektra) and 50 Cent’s "Wanksta" from the 8 Mile soundtrack.

And at Post Modern, it’s all about Billy Corgan’s new band, Zwan. "Honestly" (Reprise) will pick up Most-Added honors, with All American Rejects’ "Swing Swing" (DreamWorks) coming in right behind.